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The Effect Of Motor Involvement And Melody Truncation On Involuntary Musical Imagery, Stephanie Audrey Mccullough

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

The term “earworm,” also known as Involuntary Musical Imagery (INMI), refers to the phenomenon of an un-controllably repeating melody in one’s head. Though ubiquitous, it is comparatively under-researched in music cognition. Most existing studies have identified the defining characteristics of earworms, rather than explore their underlying mechanisms. This study investigates the hypothesis that overt motor involvement (humming, singing, tapping) and imagined motor involvement (imagining a continuation to an interrupted melody) will induce INMI more frequently than passive music listening. Four groups of participants were given instructions for different types of responses while listening to music; then they completed the same …